Plasmonic light emitting diode

ABSTRACT

A light emitting diode includes a square quantum well structure, the quantum well structure including III-V materials. A dielectric layer is formed on the quantum well structure. A plasmonic metal is formed on the dielectric layer and is configured to excite surface plasmons in a waveguide mode that is independent of light wavelength generated by the quantum well structure to generate light.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present invention relates to light emitting diodes, and moreparticularly to plasmonic light emitting diodes formed on-chip toprovide greater output and a smaller footprint.

Description of the Related Art

High performance miniaturized light emitting diodes (LEDs) provide apromising device for applications, such as, next generation bio-sensingcomponents and optical links. Conventional plasmonic LEDs need to matcha metal resonance wavelength with a semiconductor gain spectrum, whichforce structural and material limitations on the devices.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a lightemitting diode includes a square quantum well structure, the quantumwell structure including III-V materials. A dielectric layer is formedon the quantum well structure. A plasmonic metal is formed on thedielectric layer and is configured to excite surface plasmons in awaveguide mode that is independent of light wavelength generated by thequantum well structure to generate light.

Another light emitting diode includes a glass substrate and a squarequantum well structure mounted of the glass substrate, the quantum wellstructure including alternating layers of III-V materials to generatelight using optical pumping. A dielectric layer is formed on the quantumwell structure. A plasmonic metal is formed on the dielectric layer andis configured to excite surface plasmons in a waveguide mode independentof light wavelength generated by the quantum well structure.

A method for fabricating a light emitting diode includes forming asquare quantum well structure on a substrate, the quantum well structureincluding III-V materials; forming a dielectric layer on the quantumwell structure; and depositing a plasmonic metal on the dielectriclayer, the plasmonic metal being configured to excite surface plasmonsin a waveguide mode independently of light wavelength generated by thequantum well structure.

These and other features and advantages will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description of illustrative embodiments thereof,which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following description will provide details of preferred embodimentswith reference to the following figures wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a quantum well (QW) arrangementwith a dielectric layer and plasmonic metal for enhancing output of amicrocavity diode in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing another quantum well (QW)arrangement with a dielectric layer and plasmonic metal for enhancingoutput of a microcavity diode bonded to a glass substrate in accordancewith another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows graphs of emission intensity (counts/s) versus wavelengthfor a plasmonic device and a conventional device, the devices being 10microns square in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 shows graphs of emission intensity (counts/s) versus wavelengthfor a plasmonic device and a conventional device, the devices being 5microns square in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 shows graphs of emission intensity (counts/s) versus wavelengthfor a plasmonic device and a conventional device, the devices being 4microns square in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 shows a graph of emission intensity (counts/s) versus inputoptical power (microWatts) for a 10 micron square plasmonic device, a 5micron square plasmonic device, a 4 micron square plasmonic device andcontrol devices of the same sizes in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 7 is a block/flow diagram showing methods for fabricating aplasmonic diode in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present invention include a propagating plasmonic modelight emitting diode that functions at any wavelength. Usefulembodiments include a propagating surface plasmonic mode to providemicrocavity LEDs with enhanced light output. For LEDs, emissionintensity scales linearly with input power. With a same active regionsize, a plasmonic LED in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention provides an enhancement of a factor of about 2 or greater ascompared to conventional LEDs. Compared between different device sizes,emission intensity approximately scales with area, e.g., emissionintensity is approximately ∫Intensity*area.

In one embodiment, the plasmonic LED may be formed using III-V materialsand placed on substrates, such as Si, to enable the formation ofadditional circuits using complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)processing. In other embodiments, the plasmonic mode LED can be employedwith III-V active materials on a glass substrate for optical coupling. Aplasmonic mode is employed for enhancing light coupling efficiency intoa waveguide. The plasmonic mode includes employing plasmonic surfaceexcitation to generate photons.

It is to be understood that aspects of the present invention will bedescribed in terms of a given illustrative architecture; however, otherarchitectures, structures, substrate materials and process features andsteps can be varied within the scope of aspects of the presentinvention.

It will also be understood that when an element such as a layer, regionor substrate is referred to as being “on” or “over” another element, itcan be directly on the other element or intervening elements can also bepresent. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directlyon” or “directly over” another element, there are no interveningelements present. It will also be understood that when an element isreferred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it canbe directly connected or coupled to the other element or interveningelements can be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to asbeing “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element,there are no intervening elements present.

The present embodiments can include a design for an integrated circuitchip, which can be created in a graphical computer programming language,and stored in a computer storage medium (such as a disk, tape, physicalhard drive, or virtual hard drive such as in a storage access network).If the designer does not fabricate chips or the photolithographic masksused to fabricate chips, the designer can transmit the resulting designby physical means (e.g., by providing a copy of the storage mediumstoring the design) or electronically (e.g., through the Internet) tosuch entities, directly or indirectly. The stored design is thenconverted into the appropriate format (e.g., GDSII) for the fabricationof photolithographic masks, which typically include multiple copies ofthe chip design in question that are to be formed on a wafer. Thephotolithographic masks are utilized to define areas of the wafer(and/or the layers thereon) to be etched or otherwise processed.

Methods as described herein can be used in the fabrication of integratedcircuit chips. The resulting integrated circuit chips can be distributedby the fabricator in raw wafer form (that is, as a single wafer that hasmultiple unpackaged chips), as a bare die, or in a packaged form. In thelatter case, the chip is mounted in a single chip package (such as aplastic carrier, with leads that are affixed to a motherboard or otherhigher level carrier) or in a multichip package (such as a ceramiccarrier that has either or both surface interconnections or buriedinterconnections). In any case, the chip is then integrated with otherchips, discrete circuit elements, and/or other signal processing devicesas part of either (a) an intermediate product, such as a motherboard, or(b) an end product. The end product can be any product that includesintegrated circuit chips, ranging from toys and other low-endapplications to advanced computer products having a display, a keyboardor other input device, and a central processor.

It should also be understood that material compounds will be describedin terms of listed elements, e.g., GaAs. These compounds includedifferent proportions of the elements within the compound, e.g., GaAsincludes Ga_(x)As_(1-x) where x is less than or equal to 1, etc. Inaddition, other elements can be included in the compound and stillfunction in accordance with the present principles. The compounds withadditional elements will be referred to herein as alloys.

Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”,as well as other variations thereof, means that a particular feature,structure, characteristic, and so forth described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearancesof the phrase “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment”, as well anyother variations, appearing in various places throughout thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

It is to be appreciated that the use of any of the following “/”,“and/or”, and “at least one of”, for example, in the cases of “A/B”, “Aand/or B” and “at least one of A and B”, is intended to encompass theselection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of thesecond listed option (B) only, or the selection of both options (A andB). As a further example, in the cases of “A, B, and/or C” and “at leastone of A, B, and C”, such phrasing is intended to encompass theselection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of thesecond listed option (B) only, or the selection of the third listedoption (C) only, or the selection of the first and the second listedoptions (A and B) only, or the selection of the first and third listedoptions (A and C) only, or the selection of the second and third listedoptions (B and C) only, or the selection of all three options (A and Band C). This can be extended, as readily apparent by one of ordinaryskill in this and related arts, for as many items listed.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of exampleembodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” areintended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms“comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and/or “including,” when usedherein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps,operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presenceor addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations,elements, components and/or groups thereof.

Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,”“upper,” and the like, can be used herein for ease of description todescribe one element's or feature's relationship to another element(s)or feature(s) as illustrated in the FIGS. It will be understood that thespatially relative terms are intended to encompass differentorientations of the device in use or operation in addition to theorientation depicted in the FIGS. For example, if the device in theFIGS. is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” otherelements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elementsor features. Thus, the term “below” can encompass both an orientation ofabove and below. The device can be otherwise oriented (rotated 90degrees or at other orientations), and the spatially relativedescriptors used herein can be interpreted accordingly. In addition, itwill also be understood that when a layer is referred to as being“between” two layers, it can be the only layer between the two layers,or one or more intervening layers can also be present.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. canbe used herein to describe various elements, these elements should notbe limited by these term's. These terms are only used to distinguish oneelement from another element. Thus, a first element discussed belowcould be termed a second element without departing from the scope of thepresent concept.

Referring now to the drawings in which like numerals represent the sameor similar elements and initially to FIG. 1, a plasmonic light emittingdiode (LED) 100 is shown in accordance with one embodiment. The LED 100includes a periodic quantum well (QW) arrangement or structure 102. Inone embodiment, the QW arrangement 102 includes GaAs QWs withalternating layers of different GaAs materials (e.g., AlGaAs and GaAs).The alternating layers may number between, e.g., 10 and 100 and includea relationship with the wavelength of generated light to achieve lightamplification. In one embodiment, the QW 102 (or multiple quantum well(MQW)) active regions may include alternating layers of, e.g., 10 nmGaAs/10 nm AlGaAs (Al_(0.3), Ga_(0.7)As). For example, layers 101 and103 may respectively include GaAs and AlGaAs.

The LED 100 is preferably optically pumped using a laser or diode. Theoptical pumping provides an input power to the diode. The input power isenhanced to provide an enhanced emission using plasmonic excitation. Theoptical pump can be included in the QW structure 102, or may be includedin a separate device. The optical pumping can be done with a lightsource having a photon energy larger than a bandgap of LED 100materials.

The structure 102 can be formed on a dielectric layer 106. Thedielectric layer 106 can include a material such as aluminum oxide(Al₂O₃) or other suitable material. A plasmonic metal 108 is formed incontact with the dielectric layer 104.

The QW arrangement 102 includes III-V gain materials (e.g., GaAs,InGaAs, GaN, InGaAl, etc.) formed in proximity of the plasmonic metal108. The periodic quantum well (QW) arrangement or structure 102 issandwiched between top 114 and bottom 116 buffer/contact layers. Thebuffer or contact layers 114 and 116 may include a material such asAl_(0.3)Ga_(0.7)As, although other compositions and materials may beemployed. Instead of or in addition to the buffer layers 114 and 116,highly doped contact layers (114, 116) may be formed. The contact layer114 may be, e.g., 20 nm thick and may include highly doped GaAs. Asecond electrode 116 (or the electrode can be connected to layer 116)can be formed using an n+ doped layer or a side contact may be employed.In one embodiment, a thin highly doped layer is employed for making thecontact 116.

The metal 108 may include, e.g., Au, although other metals may beemployed (e.g., Cu, Ag, Al, etc.). The light generated in the QWarrangement 102 causes plasmonic activity in the plasmonic material 108to excite electrons in the metal 108. The LED 100 generates light usingthe plasmonic/photonic properties of the device to produce light (as alaser or light emitting diode (LED)). The plasmonic metal 108 is formedon the dielectric layer 106 and is configured to excite surface plasmonsin a waveguide mode that is independent of light wavelength generated bythe quantum well structure 102. The plasmons are generated in awaveguide mode (through dielectric layer 106) and can include anywavelength. The plasmonic metal 108 can also include adielectrically-loaded surface plasmon polariton (DLSPP) mode. Thetransmission properties of the DLSPP mode depends on the wavelength ofthe light.

The metal 108 may include a thickness of between about 50 nm to about300 nm. The metal 108 may also provide heat sink properties to reducethe operating temperature of the device 100 and provide a reflectivesurface to reduce photon loss. In one example, estimates of pump powerloss between a device 100 and a conventional device having the samedimensions without a plasmonic metal layer 108, using a transfer matrixmethod, result in significant decreases in power loss. For example, lossat the bottom surface of the device (where the plasmonic metal layer 108is in device 100 and a corresponding surface in the conventional device)was about 32.4% for the conventional device and only 26.5% for thedevice 100 in accordance with the present embodiments. In addition toreduced loss, the present device 100 provides enhanced light emissionwith comparable pump levels at active layers as compared to those forconventional devices.

Referring to FIG. 2, the QW arrangement 102 can be formed on a substrate110. The LED 100 may be bonded on a SiO₂/Si material as the substrate110 or monolithically grown on GaAs as the substrate 110. In oneembodiment, the Si substrate 110 is compatible with CMOS processing. Thesubstrate 110 may include field effect transistors, lasers, diodes,bio-sensing components or other devices formed thereon. In otherembodiments, the LED 100 may be bonded to a glass substrate 110. In suchembodiments, the substrate 110 may be removed (e.g., by etching) toexpose the plasmonic metal 108, and the metal 108 may be bonded to theglass (or other suitable material) substrate. In one embodiment, thedevice 100 is wax bonded to a glass substrate.

The embodiments depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2 can include the plasmonic LEDstructure 100 with a thin layer (e.g., about 100 nm) of metal 108 and athin layer (about 20 nm to about 500 nm) of light emission layer(s) 102.A preferred metal 108 includes material having low absorption loss atthe working wavelength. For near infrared, Au, Ag, Cu are preferredoptions. The light emission layer 102 can include III-V compoundsemiconductor quantum wells.

In one embodiment, the square cavity integrated nano-cavity plasmoniclight source 100 may include a 10 micron×10 micron footprint. Othersizes can be 3 microns×3 microns and as low as submicron dimensions. Inone embodiment, the square cavity plasmonic LED light source 100 caninclude a 250 nm×250 nm footprint or less.

Referring to FIG. 3, light emission measurements are plotted on a graph202 for a plasmonic LED in accordance with a present embodiment. Forcomparison, light emission measurements are plotted on a graph 204 for aconventional LED. Graphs 202 and 204 depict emission peak intensity(photon counts/second (×10⁵)) on the y-axis and wavelength (nm) on thex-axis. The LEDs employed in graphs 202 and 204 include a 10 micronsquare device. Plotted in each graph 202, 204 are a number or traces(traces 206-222 in graph 202 and traces 224-238 in graph 204). Thetraces show varying effective input powers in microWatts. Table 1 showsthe effective input powers versus traces in FIG. 3.

TABLE 1 Input power: Traces in graph 202 Traces in graph 204 Power(microW) (present embodiment) (conventional) 8.79 Trace 206 Trace 22417.75 Trace 208 No trace 29.2 Trace 210 Trace 226 46.31 Trace 212 Trace228 71.8 Trace 214 Trace 230 105.5 Trace 216 Trace 232 156 Trace 218Trace 234 232.8 Trace 220 Trace 236 346.2 Trace 222 Trace 238

Devices employed included GaAs MQW with plasmonic metal (graph 202) andwithout metal (graph 204) at the bottom of the device. In addition, thesubstrate was removed, and the devices were bonded by wax on glass.Emission intensity scales linearly with input power for the plasmonicdevice of graph 202. With the same size of active region as conventionaldevices, the plasmonic LED in accordance with aspects of the presentinvention (graph 202) provides a count/s enhancement by a factor of ˜2compared with conventional LEDs of graph 204.

Referring to FIG. 4, light emission measurements are plotted on a graph302 for a plasmonic LED in accordance with a present embodiment. Forcomparison, light emission measurements are plotted on a graph 304 for aconventional LED. Graphs 302 and 304 depict emission peak intensity(photon counts/second (×10⁴)) on the y-axis and wavelength (nm) on thex-axis. The LEDs employed in graphs 302 and 304 include a 5 micronsquare device. Plotted in each graph 302, 304 are a number or traces(traces 306-316 in graph 302 and traces 320-332 in graph 304). Thetraces show varying effective input powers in microWatts. Table 2 showsthe effective input powers versus traces in FIG. 4.

TABLE 2 Input power: Traces in graph 302 Traces in graph 304 Power(microW) (present embodiment) (conventional) 8.79 Trace 306 Trace 32017.75 Trace 308 Trace 322 29.2 Trace 310 Trace 324 46.31 Trace 312 Trace326 71.8 Trace 314 Trace 328 105.5 Trace 316 Trace 330 156 No TraceTrace 332

Devices employed included GaAs MQW with plasmonic metal (graph 302) andwithout metal (graph 304) at the bottom of the device. In addition, thesubstrate was removed, and the devices were bonded by wax on glass.Emission intensity scales linearly with input power for the plasmonicdevice of graph 302. With the same size of active region as conventionaldevices, the plasmonic LED in accordance with aspects of the presentinvention (graph 302) provides a count/s enhancement by a factor of 2compared with conventional LEDs of graph 304.

Referring to FIG. 5, light emission measurements are plotted on a graph402 for a plasmonic LED in accordance with a present embodiment. Forcomparison, light emission measurements are plotted on a graph 404 for aconventional LED. Graphs 402 and 404 depict emission peak intensity(photon counts/second (×10⁴)) on the y-axis and wavelength (nm) on thex-axis. The LEDs employed in graphs 402 and 404 include a 4 micronsquare device. Plotted in each graph 402, 404 are a number or traces(traces 406-416 in graph 402 and traces 420-432 in graph 404). Thetraces show varying effective input powers in microWatts. Table 3 showsthe effective input powers versus traces in FIG. 5.

TABLE 3 Input power: Traces in graph 302 Traces in graph 304 Power(microW) (present embodiment) (conventional) 8.79 Trace 406 Trace 42017.75 No Trace Trace 422 29.2 Trace 408 Trace 424 46.31 Trace 410 Trace426 71.8 Trace 412 Trace 428 105.5 Trace 414 Trace 430 156 No TraceTrace 432

Devices employed included GaAs MQW with plasmonic metal (graph 402) andwithout metal (graph 404) at the bottom of the device. In addition, thesubstrate was removed, and the devices were bonded by wax on glass.Emission intensity scales linearly with input power for the plasmonicdevice of graph 402. With the same size of active region as conventionaldevices, the plasmonic LED in accordance with aspects of the presentinvention (graph 402) provides a count/s enhancement by a factor of ˜2compared with conventional LEDs of graph 404.

Referring to FIG. 6, in accordance with aspects of the presentinvention, for different sized plasmonic devices (e.g., 10 micronsquare, 5 micron square, 4 micron square, etc.), emission intensityapproximately scales with area, e.g., emission intensity ∝ area. FIG. 6shows emission peak intensity (counts/s) (×10⁵) versus input opticalpower (microWatts) for devices of different sizes. Trace 502 is a plotfor a 10 micron square plasmonic device. Trace 504 is a plot for a 10micron square control device (conventional) for comparison. Trace 506 isa plot for a 5 micron square plasmonic device. Trace 508 is a plot for a5 micron square control device (conventional) for comparison. Trace 510is a plot for a 4 micron square plasmonic device. Trace 512 is a plotfor a 4 micron square control device (conventional) for comparison.

Referring to FIG. 7, methods for fabricating a light emitting diode areillustratively described and shown. In some alternative implementations,the functions noted in the blocks can occur out of the order noted inthe figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession can, in fact,be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks can sometimes beexecuted in the reverse order, depending upon the functionalityinvolved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagramsand/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the blockdiagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by specialpurpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions oracts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computerinstructions.

In block 602, a square quantum well structure is formed on a substrate.The quantum well structure preferably includes III-V materials. Thesquare quantum well structure may be formed using a III-V substrate anddepositing alternating layers on the surface of the previous layer orsubstrate. The alternating layers form a stack and can be depositedusing epitaxial growth processes to maintain crystal structure. Theepitaxial growth processes may include in-situ doping. The layers arepatterned and etched using a lithographic patterning technique.

In one embodiment, the alternating layers include GaAs and AlGaAsmaterials. Other materials can also be employed. A buffer layer orcontact can be formed on the stack. In block 604, a dielectric layer isformed on the quantum well structure or stack (e.g., on thebuffer/contact layer, if present).

In block 606, a plasmonic metal is deposited on the dielectric layer.The plasmonic metal is configured to excite surface plasmons in aplasmon mode independently of light wavelength generated by the quantumwell structure. Conventional plasmonic LEDs need to match a metalresonance wavelength with a semiconductor gain spectrum, however, thepresent structures can work with any wavelength in a waveguide mode andare not limited to such matching. The plasmonic metal may be depositedusing chemical vapor deposition, sputtering, atomic layer deposition orany other suitable process. The plasmonic metal on the stack will bereferred to as a plasmonic stack.

In block 608, the substrate is removed from the plasmonic stack, e.g.,by an etch process, a mechanical cleaving process, such as, e.g.,spalling, etc. The plasmonic stack can be transferred to anothersubstrate by a chip transfer process. The plasmonic stack may be bondedto a glass substrate, an integrated circuit, a semiconductor substrate,etc. The new substrate may include light coupling components, lasers ordiodes for optical pumping, electronic components or circuitry,bio-medical processing devices, etc. A second contact or buffer layermay be formed on the exposed portion of the plasmonic stack to completethe device.

The square quantum well structure preferably includes a side dimensionof less than about 10 microns, although smaller and sub-microndimensions are also contemplated. Smaller micro cavity devices areparticularly useful in bio-sensing devices and optical links.

In block 610, light loss is reduced from the diode using the plasmonicmetal to reflect light. This includes providing a smooth interface withthe dielectric layer and proper material selection of the metal anddielectric material of the layer to ensure optimal reflectiveproperties. In one embodiment, using reflective properties and plasmonicexcitation, the plasmonic metal enhances emission intensity by at leasta factor of 2 over a same device without the plasmonic metal. In usefulembodiments, the plasmonic metal is selected from the group consistingof Au, Cu, Ag and Al, although other metals may be employed.

Having described preferred embodiments for a plasmonic light emittingdiode (which are intended to be illustrative and not limiting), it isnoted that modifications and variations can be made by persons skilledin the art in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to beunderstood that changes can be made in the particular embodimentsdisclosed which are within the scope of the invention as outlined by theappended claims. Having thus described aspects of the invention, withthe details and particularity required by the patent laws, what isclaimed and desired protected by Letters Patent is set forth in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A light emitting diode, comprising: a quantumwell structure; and a plasmonic metal formed on a dielectric layerbetween the quantum well structure and a substrate, and configured toexcite surface plasmons in a waveguide mode to generate light.
 2. Thediode as recited in claim 1, wherein the quantum well structure includesa square with a side dimension of less than about 10 microns.
 3. Thediode as recited in claim 1, wherein the quantum well structure includesalternating layers of III-V materials.
 4. The diode as recited in claim3, wherein the alternating layers include GaAs and AlGaAs materials. 5.The diode as recited in claim 1, wherein the plasmonic metal reduceslight loss from the diode through reflection.
 6. The diode as recited inclaim 1, wherein the plasmonic metal enhances emission intensity by afactor of about 2 over a same device without the plasmonic metal.
 7. Thediode as recited in claim 1, wherein the plasmonic metal is selectedfrom the group consisting of Au, Cu, Ag and Al.
 8. The diode as recitedin claim 1, wherein the dielectric layer includes aluminum oxide.
 9. Alight emitting diode, comprising: a glass substrate; a quantum wellstructure mounted on the glass substrate to generate light using opticalpumping; and a plasmonic metal formed on a dielectric layer between thequantum well structure and the glass substrate, and configured to excitesurface plasmons in a waveguide mode.
 10. The diode as recited in claim9, wherein the quantum well structure includes a square with a sidedimension of less than about 10 microns.
 11. The diode as recited inclaim 9, wherein the alternating layers include GaAs and AlGaAsmaterials.
 12. The diode as recited in claim 9, wherein the plasmonicmetal reduces light loss from the diode through reflection.
 13. Thediode as recited in claim 9, wherein the plasmonic metal enhancesemission intensity by a factor of about 2 over a same device without theplasmonic metal.
 14. The diode as recited in claim 9, wherein theplasmonic metal is selected from the group consisting of Au, Cu, Ag andAl.
 15. The diode as recited in claim 9, wherein the dielectric layerincludes aluminum oxide.
 16. A method for fabricating a light emittingdiode, comprising: forming a quantum well structure on a substrate; anddepositing a plasmonic metal on a dielectric layer in between thequantum well structure and the substrate, the plasmonic metal beingconfigured to excite surface plasmons in a waveguide mode.
 17. Themethod as recited in claim 16, wherein the quantum well structureincludes a side dimension of less than about 10 microns.
 18. The methodas recited in claim 16, further comprising reducing light loss from thediode using the plasmonic metal to reflect light.
 19. The method asrecited in claim 16, wherein the plasmonic metal enhances emissionintensity by a factor of about 2 over a same device without theplasmonic metal.
 20. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein theplasmonic metal is selected from the group consisting of Au, Cu, Ag andAl.